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Data from: Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum

When using this data, please cite the original article:

Chave J, Coomes D, Jansen S, Lewis SL, Swenson NG, Zanne AE (2009) Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Ecology Letters 12: 351-366. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01285.x

Additionally, please cite the Dryad data package:

Zanne AE, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Coomes DA, Ilic J, Jansen S, Lewis SL, Miller RB, Swenson NG, Wiemann MC, Chave J (2009) Data from: Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Dryad Digital Repository. doi:10.5061/dryad.234
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Dryad Package Identifier doi:10.5061/dryad.234 1392 views 
Abstract Wood performs several essential functions in plants, including mechanically supporting aboveground tissue, storing water and other resources, and transporting sap. Woody tissues are likely to face physiological, structural and defensive trade-offs. How a plant optimizes among these competing functions can have major ecological implications, which have been under-appreciated by ecologists compared to the focus they have given to leaf function. To draw together our current understanding of wood function, we identify and collate data on the major wood functional traits, including the largest wood density database to date (8412 taxa), mechanical strength measures and anatomical features, as well as clade-specific features such as secondary chemistry. We then show how wood traits are related to one another, highlighting functional trade-offs, and to ecological and demographic plant features (growth form, growth rate, latitude, ecological setting). We suggest that, similar to the manifold that tree species leaf traits cluster around the 'leaf economics spectrum', a similar 'wood economics spectrum' may be defined. We then discuss the biogeography, evolution and biogeochemistry of the spectrum, and conclude by pointing out the major gaps in our current knowledge of wood functional traits.
Keywords evolution, functional ecology, plant economics, trade-offs, wood,
Date Deposited 2009-02-04T23:35:24Z
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Global Wood Density Database 2595 downloads View File Details
Please direct all correspondence to G. Lopez-Gonzalez <G.Lopez-Gonzalez@leeds.ac.uk>
Download: GlobalWoodDensityDatabase.xls ( 2.047Mb )
To the extent possible under law, the authors have waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this data.
 

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